Suddenly I'm a big fan of traditionals

JohnDF said:
Also, you can buy a few and try them out. If you don't like them you can post them For Sale on the exchange and get most of your money back... That's what I've been doing, ... After a while you end up with some great knives and it gets real hard to pick which ones to sell :D
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And/or which one(s) to carry on any particular day ... :)
 
akguy59 said:
Hi folks. I've been a member of BF for a few months but have only been lurking around here. I only own one traditional knife and it's an Old Timer 930T that I got recently in a local consignment shop. I don't think I have owned a traditional folder since I was a kid. I had forgotten how handy it is to have a razor sharp knife that is so versatile but yet takes up almost no room in your pocket. I have been looking at some of the knives you folks have posted and it amazes me how beautiful many of them are.
I have a bad feeling that I have a new addiction that is going to whittle away at my wallet. It is both a blessing and a curse that there are 2 consignment shops within 3 or 4 miles of me that have some great deals on traditional knives.
I think I'm starting to ramble so I'll get finished by saying that this forum looks like it will be both informative and entertaining.
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Welcome! You'll find nothing but enablers here, so hide your eyes, or hide your wallet, or consign yourself to buying a lot of knives!
 
knifeswapper said:
Like carpentry or plumbing - measure twice, cut once. Starting out the worst thing you can do is just buy to be buying. Buy one knife a month until you settle on what you like. Many people end up with a drawer full of junk by the time they actually figure out what they appreciate.
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This is good advice. I've spent this year buying different GEC patterns to see what I like, and selling back the ones I don't fancy, or trading them out for ones I had but didn't like as well (e.g. modern folders or other traditionals). That way I've had a pretty steady stream of knives to try out, but I haven't had to spend a lot of money on the whole. I've managed to break pretty much even on knives bought and sold, though I'll need to sell a few before the year's end if I want to keep the same number of knives as I started the year with. It's been a lot of fun!
 
Welcome, I was in your shoes not so long ago. Here are a couple of traditional's that I really like.

Case Peanut, perfect (in my opinion) knife for those times you want something small and easy to carry.

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Case Stockman. Very useful knife, a bit bigger than the peanut but not too big, this one is in the CV steel and is a very good cutter.

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Traditional folders are classy and have character. I still have my production knives, but traditionals dont all look the same and wear better too. I'm not a traditional only person and generally carry both.
 
There are a lot of great traditional knives out there. I like to look for the knives that are out of favor at the moment. I'm not a big Case guy, but recently bought one in a package deal that netted me a nice little Kabar. There's a little bit of Queen hysteria going on now, there are a ton of them on the market right now, and they're fetching high-ish prices, but at the same time there are a lot of Queens out there that are not up to their historically high quality.

Don't overlook the good old workaday names, Buck, Old Timer, Schrade, Camillus, and many more. Lots of nice knives that be had quite reasonably, and deserve to be preserved. In my opinion, anyway.
 
Then big thing about traditional to me is, the choice of multiple blades/tools in one small pocketable package. The stockman, with a choice of three blades to choose from for any particular job, or the scout/SAK with some basic tools thrown in t the package. The regular old two blade jack with one main and a pen blade is a great EDC. Having more than one blade in a package lets you even sharpen each blade a little different for different jobs. Or just having a spare blade so when you run into that job that you just know for sure that it's going to dull up that blade, you have a spare built in.

The mutliblade traditional gives you a level of versatility that is hard to match.
 
Same here.
I had 15 or so frame lock knives and only a couple of traditional back lock knives, which I did not really use.

Then GEC knives opened my eye to traditional slip joints.
It is really handy to have these slim, no-nonsense slicers in pocket.
They are quickly dominating my collection.

Also, I might have had a fear of frame knives accidentally opening in my pocket or when I pull them out.
Well, it did happen a couple of times.
With a good slip joint knife, I can just drop it in my pocket and completely forget about it.
How nice!
 
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akguy59 said:
Hi folks. I've been a member of BF for a few months but have only been lurking around here. I only own one traditional knife and it's an Old Timer 930T that I got recently in a local consignment shop. I don't think I have owned a traditional folder since I was a kid. I had forgotten how handy it is to have a razor sharp knife that is so versatile but yet takes up almost no room in your pocket. I have been looking at some of the knives you folks have posted and it amazes me how beautiful many of them are.
I have a bad feeling that I have a new addiction that is going to whittle away at my wallet. It is both a blessing and a curse that there are 2 consignment shops within 3 or 4 miles of me that have some great deals on traditional knives.
I think I'm starting to ramble so I'll get finished by saying that this forum looks like it will be both informative and entertaining.
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A few suggestions to 'SPICE UP' your collection...
If I can ever get picture posting set up I'll gladly show some but here it goes...

*Crosman blades-
Only made for a few short years in the early 80's but they are a hidden treat of USA cutlery.The 930A 'Copperhead' model is a sweet sodbuster with a liner lock and copperhead etching on blade and handle emblem.This was of course named after their BB line.The other is their 910A 4" Stockman-liner locking Turkish clip point,serrated sheepsfoot,spey blade.Jigged Delrin and stainless blades...real nice.I think Camillus made these.

*Old Crafty and Sears-
A small line of Old Timer's relabeled for Sears/Craftsman...gotta have those.Sears pocket knives were also made by Camillus and Schrade USA.Those will be worth even more if Sears(sorry to say) goes belly up.

*Imperial Apex Series:
Non fancy materials with all Zytel construction but they worked and came sharp.Slipjoints,lockbaks,and a few hunting fixed blades.Some people really took to those because they were lightweight but solid.People all found that Zytel was just as durable as Delrin as a good knife that's meant to be dropped.

*Imperial Frontier and Double Eagle Series:
Really mentionable to collect if you like Schrade's Old Timer and Uncle Henry line.Really beautiful brass bolsters and rosewood scales on the Double Eagle line is a gorgeous combo.The Imperial #4515 Sportsman Lockback is my favorite.

*Schrade Old Timer and Uncle Henry:
Not much to say here...too many posts that praise these knives the American working class loved.I always found them to be better than case when it came to handle material,heat treatment,and a stellar flat grind.Do not be surprised if you start carrying one.

*Western Cutlery:
Not the current Chinese stuff...but the old stuff up to the years with Coleman.The S-532/532 Westlock lockbacks are really nice.The Westlock was a unique lockback design patented by Western that used a concealed construction method for the lockbar spring so dirt and grit couldn't get in.Added more weight but it worked and is very unique.Coleman's stuff was decent.They kept some of the classic designs and whipped up some Zytel bodied slipjoints and rubberized handle fixed blades.

One tip about some of these knives and getting into this knife.A lot of these older knives have bad edgework consisting of thin bevels and wide edge angles.This made stainless steel problematic to sharpen if you weren't good at reprofiling by hand.A WorkSharp model WSKTS with it's Kitchen Knife guide(40 degrees) will put a vicious bevel and sweeter edge on those blades.
 
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